Higher Education Coordinating Board


Limit to Financial Aid.

Passport program

Passport to College Promise Scholarship

Created in 2007 by the Washington State Legislature, the purpose of the Passport to College Promise Scholarship is to encourage current and former foster care youth to prepare for, attend, and successfully complete higher education.

This program includes recommendations on providing these students with educational planning information, institutional support, and direct financial resources.

The program will begin as a six-year pilot, with most of the funding to begin in the 2008-09 academic year (FY 09).

Its design includes a multi-faceted approach to improving college-going rates among former foster youth. Several agencies will share in the administration of the program.

Passport to College Promise Scholarship Program Status Report (January 2008) NEW

Pilot program elements

Transition Planning. DSHS will contract with at least one non-governmental entity to develop, implement, and administer a program of supplemental educational transition planning for Washington youth in foster care.

Information Sharing. DSHS will devise procedures to identify students who are eligible for the services of the program and will share that information with the HECB and the institutions of higher education.

Web site. The HECB will use targeted funds to build or modify a Web site that provides information important to academic success, including: how to apply for college, take placement tests, and apply for financial aid. It also will provide financial aid information and resources for eligible foster youth.

Student Scholarship and Assistance. The HECB will administer $2.3 million in 2008-09, and consult with an advisory committee on implementing a program of supplemental scholarship and student assistance.

Program Details

Scholarship and Financial Aid. Financial aid administrators will be prompted to recognize the true and full cost of each student’s education. The scholarship amount, regardless of the institution attended, shall not exceed resident undergraduate tuition and fees at the highest-priced public institution in the state. It will be combined with all sources of aid including a reasonable amount of self-help to meet student need.

Institutional Assistance. Institutions demonstrating a viable plan for identifying and serving these students may receive financial and other incentives for achieving measurable progress in recruitment, retention, and graduation of eligible students.

Eligible students. Eligible students are defined as those who emancipated from foster care on or after January 1, 2007, after having spent at least one year in foster care subsequent to his or her sixteenth birthday. Students must enroll by age 21. Eligibility is for up to five years after the student first enrolls, or until the student turns 26.

Board Action. Reports on the pilot project are due to the Legislature in December 2009 and December 2011. A program evaluation is to be completed by December 2012.